© 2025 KCBX | KCBX is a registered non-profit, 501(c)(3). Tax ID: 23-7292203
90.1 FM San Luis Obispo | 91.7 FM Paso Robles | 91.1 FM Cayucos | 95.1 FM Lompoc | 90.9 FM Avila
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Sun Studio Memphis-- birthplace of Rock & Roll

KCBX | By Tom Wilmer
Published May 17, 2017 at 2:10 AM PDT
Sun Studio Memphis, Tennessee
Thomas Wilmer

Known fondly as the birthplace of Rock & Roll, Sun Studio opened its doors as Memphis Recording Service in 1950.

It was Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats’ “Rocket 88” Sun Records recording in 1951 that goes down in history as the first Rock & Roll single. A litany of legends came to Sun Studio to record and make music history—cats like Howlin’ Wolf, James Cotton, B.B. King and Johnny Cash.

This is the place where Elvis recorded his first single “That’s All Right” in 1954. And Sun is still recording music, in the same location today, in the same studio, using lots of the original tube-technology equipment.

Vintage neon in Memphis Recording Service window
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Vintage neon in Memphis Recording Service window

A music legend: “If music was a religion then Memphis would be Jerusalem and Sun Studio its most holy shrine.”

Elvis Presley in front of Sun Record/Memphis Recording Service after recording "That's All Right" in 1954
Credit Sun Record
Elvis Presley in front of Sun Record/Memphis Recording Service after recording "That's All Right" in 1954
Sun Studio graphic
Credit Sun Studio
Sun Studio graphic

Memphis musician Tiffany Harmon takes us on a musical tour

Memphis musician Tiffany Harmon at Sun Studio belting out a mesmerizing tune
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Memphis musician Tiffany Harmon at Sun Studio belting out a mesmerizing tune
Tiffany Harmon shows off a vintage guitar at Sun Studio Memphis, Tennessee
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Tiffany Harmon shows off a vintage guitar at Sun Studio Memphis, Tennessee
Classic WHBQ radio station control room at Sun Studio
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Classic WHBQ radio station control room at Sun Studio

Learn more about Memphis

Visit Sun Studio on facebook

Discover Tennessee as travel destination

Credit Kornreich Design San Luis Obispo

You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR Podcast travel show Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer via: 

Follow Tom on Social Media

Twitter: TomCWilmer

Instagram: Thomas.Wilmer

Facebook

Linkedin

Website

Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer 2016 Lowell Thomas
Credit SATW Foundation
Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer 2016 Lowell Thomas
Tags
Travel NPR OneTennessee TourismMemphis travelSun RecordTiffany Harmon
Tom Wilmer
Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.
See stories by Tom Wilmer
Related Content